Something spooky. In the middle of the night, we watch as Sarah wakes and slowly walks down to the lake behind her house. There, a mysterious glowing orb is just beyond the edge of the dock. She reaches out to touch it… and in a flash she disappears.

What Happened to Sarah? (officially called The Curtain) is an online game/webseries with a polished, professional look. Billed as a “showcase [for] the work of a small group of filmmakers, designers, and transmedia storytellers,” the story is just starting to unfold through video, websites, emails, and social networking sites. Already, the level of player interaction seems pretty high in the early stages of this game/web series, and we’ll soon see how players will affect the cryptic story that is just starting to unfold.

So far, we’ve learned that Sarah DiMichaela is a new recruit at Goldman and Dawn Accounting Associates. With the slogan “There’s Magick in our numbers!” Goldman and Dawn practice an unusual kind of accountancy, and, according to the website, will soon offer free web seminars. The first seminar will be on “Strategic Thelemic Accounting.” Sarah’s brother, Vincent DiMichaela, is the new Dean at Thelema College, “the premiere institution for the expansion of the mind and human essence.” Thelema College also hosted Robert K. Maxwell, author of the controversial book The Hidden Secret of All Creation, who “dips deep into the wells of many numerous paradigms, including magick, shamanism, and quantum physics.”

Players can apply to Thelema College by filling out a form, creating a sigil, and uploading their sigil to a Flickr group. Much of the interaction right now seems to take place over e-mail, so newcomers should find the Unfiction thread incredibly useful. Players have also discovered an audio recording of a rather anxious conversation, and a family friend named Neil Desmarais has set up a Facebook group to track Sarah down.

Now, excuse me while I apply to Thelema College; I hope I come up with an appropriately esoteric name.